How to Hold the NSA Accountable

Privacy, Transparency, and Accountability in the NSA's Bulk Metadata Program, Alan Rubel, in Adam D. Moore (ed.), Privacy, Security, and Accountability: Ethics, Law, and Policy. London, UK: pp. 183-202 (2015)

New Human Rights Watch Report on U.S. Surveillance

With Liberty to Monitor All: How Large-Scale US Surveillance is Harming Journalism, Law, and American Democracy (July 28, 2014)

How NSA Spying Has Changed How Others View the United States

NSA Spying Jeopardizes America's Special Relationship With a Berliner, Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic, Oct 1 2013

Has the NSA Deliberately Weakened Internet Encryption Standards?

NSA subversion of internet security: bad for the US, good for criminals,
The Guardian, September 20, 2013

A Legal Analysis of NSA's Programs

Steven G. Bradbury on “Understanding the NSA Programs” (Lawfare Research Paper Series)

The Psychological Impact of Mass Surveillance

NSA and GCHQ: the flawed psychology of government mass surveillance, Chris Chambers, The Guardian, August 26, 2013

An Editorial on NSA Surveillance

The NSA is losing the benefit of the doubt, Ruth Marcus, Washington Post, August 22, 2013

An Attempt at Describing How NSA is Organized

An Educated Guess About How the NSA Is Structured, Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic, August 14, 2013

DNI Releases Recently Declassified Documents about NSA Surveillance Program

DNI Clapper Declassifies and Releases Telephone Metadata Collection Documents, July 31, 2013

NSA and Public Opinion: Survey

Most think NSA is violating privacy rights but want Snowden charged with a crime, Washington Post, July 24, 2013

The Impact of NSA Surveillance on Ordinary Computer Users

NSA spying revelations prompt some ordinary citizens to rethink computing habits, Associated Press, July 22, 2013

Aspen Security Forum: Interview with General Alexander, Director of the NSA

Clear and Present Danger: Cyber-Crime; Cyber-Espionage; Cyber-Terror; and Cyber-War, Aspen Institute, streamed live on July 18, 2013    

During this interview, General Alexander discusses the NSA surveillance program.

General Counsel for the DNI Defends NSA Surveillance Program

Intelligence official defends mass gathering of phone data, David G. Savage, July 19, 2013, Los Angeles Times

Tension between tech companies and NSA

Rift on display between tech industry, White House over NSA requests, Charles Cooper, CNET News, July 18, 2013  

This article includes the full-text of a petition from tech companies to President Barack Obama for greater transparency about demands for user data.

Key dates in the evolution of NSA surveillance

FISA 101: 10 key dates in the evolution of NSA surveillance, Katherine Jacobsen, The Christian Science Monitor, July 18, 2013

Is the NSA an American Stasi?

The NSA's an American Stasi? Outrageous 

 "East Germany's secret police was an entirely different — and far more dangerous — animal"

Standing to Challenge NSA Surveillance

Standing is a concept in American jurisprudence in which a party has the right to make a legal claim. In general, an individual or organization filing the suit must demonstrate that they have suffered an actual injury due to the conduct in question. The standing rule prevents, in many cases, lawsuits filed on behalf of others. The standing rule also prevents lawsuits by a party that has not suffered an actual injury, but the potential for injury exists. For instance, the fact that the National Security Agency is conducting a surveillance program, along with the mere possibility that a specific individual might be caught up in the dragnet, is potentially insufficient to meet the standing criteria without evidence that the specific individual actually was impacted by the surveillance. 

Before the United States Supreme Court this month is the case of Clapper v. Amnesty International USA, in which the plaintiffs seek prospective relief from the NSA surveillance program called "Stellar Wind". The following link is to a page maintained by the American Bar Association on the case.

Clapper v. Amnesty International USA